Alcademicstag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-16898562011-12-24T12:43:00-08:00The study of booze with Camper English.TypePadThe Tackler: A Cocktail with Genever, Ginger, and Allspicetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553b3da208834015438b707f8970c2011-12-24T12:43:00-08:002011-12-24T12:43:00-08:00I created a not-very-complicated but super delicious and spicy cocktail called The Tackler. First I put it up on Fine Cooking. It contains genever, allspice dram, and ginger liqueur. Then 12 Bottle Bar featured it in this post, with one of the longest drink-related historical tangents ever. They delve into the Christmas Truce, a football game played by opposing sides of World War I during a 2-day truce. Pour yourself a cocktail before reading it: it's a doozy.Camper English

I created a not-very-complicated but super delicious and spicy cocktail called The Tackler. First I put it up on Fine Cooking. It contains genever, allspice dram, and ginger liqueur.

Then 12 Bottle Bar featured it in this post, with one of the longest drink-related historical tangents ever. They delve into the Christmas Truce, a football game played by opposing sides of World War I during a 2-day truce.

Pour yourself a cocktail before reading it: it's a doozy.

Boozehound by Jason Wilsontag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553b3da2088340133f4b8b580970b2010-11-02T09:00:00-07:002010-10-30T10:32:35-07:00I read Washinton Post cocktail columnist Jason Wilson's new book Boozehound. Here are my thoughts. If you're a regular reader of Wilson's Post column (and you should be) you'll already know a lot of his feelings on false marketing claims and made-up brand stories. In this book he gives a lot of the backstory on his experiences with magical marketing and that's where he's at his funniest- going off about St. Germain, Chartreuse, and Jagermeister. Because I know Wilson's writing and the man in person I'm used to all his ranting and raving, so what stuck with me about the...Camper English

If you're a regular reader of Wilson's Post column (and you should be) you'll already know a lot of his feelings on false marketing claims and made-up brand stories. In this book he gives a lot of the backstory on his experiences with magical marketing and that's where he's at his funniest- going off about St. Germain, Chartreuse, and Jagermeister.

Because I know Wilson's writing and the man in person I'm used to all his ranting and raving, so what stuck with me about the book was not the humor in it (don't get me wrong, it's a funny book), but what I'll call "special moments with booze."

One Time at Booze Camp

A point that Wilson makes again and again in the book is that long lists of flavor descriptors of a spirit (or wine) don't do much for the reader, in large part because taste is so personal and subjective. What makes a spirit special is how it is special to you, and this is the core of the book.

Wilson describes his visits to distilleries around the world, along the way sharing what he learned. (I picked up great new information about aquavit, amaros, pisco, and calvados.) But these descriptions are not dry lists of rules and regulations, tasting notes, and distillation parameters, but really about what made each visit memorable, or how he came to understanding of the spirit, or what sealed the deal, in essence.

It makes you both jealous and really thirsty.

You might think that this would get annoying- Wilson bragging about his wonderful adventures like a J. Peterman catalogue- but instead I found myself absorbing those memories into my understanding of the spirits as well. (Just what I need, to be even more like Jason Wilson.)

My Favorite Part

In one part, he talks of tasting genever at Tales of the Cocktail and how it triggered a memory: He was in Amsterdam with a friend and throughout the day they drank at Wynand Fockink and De Dres Fleschjes, took in a live sex show, and had "a heated debate about the nature of friendship and love and memory."

He continues,

"Yes, this is what genever tasted like to me. Not just "earthy and funky." Not something I could encapsulate into a few tasting notes capped by a three-star versus four-star rating. It was something untranslatable. Genever tasted exactly like that day in Amsterdam, and everything surrounding that day. Genever tasted like seediness and nostalgia itself."

Wayfare Tavern Cocktail Menu Previewtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553b3da2088340134848793bb970c2010-06-18T08:39:47-07:002010-06-17T15:21:04-07:00After nearly a year of no notable cocktail programs launching in San Francisco, they're coming fast and furious these days, with the Comstock Saloon, Burritt Room, Scott Beattie's program at Spoonbar in Healdsburg, Brooke Arthur's menu at Prospect, and The Bon Vivants at Wayfare Tavern. What's that, you say? Didn't you just read in the Eater interview with Tyler Florence about his restaurant Wayfare Tavern that he won't have fancy cocktails? Yes you did: Can we talk about the bar program? You know, there are some amazing consultants in the city, but I don't know if we're necessarily going to...Camper English

After nearly a year of no notable cocktail programs launching in San Francisco, they're coming fast and furious these days, with the Comstock Saloon, Burritt Room, Scott Beattie's program at Spoonbar in Healdsburg, Brooke Arthur's menu at Prospect, and The Bon Vivants at Wayfare Tavern.

You know, there are some amazing consultants in the city, but I don't know if we're necessarily going to go there. We've got talented people here in house and it's really all about Martinis and Sazeracs. I think the craze of muddled, precious cocktails is kinda over. I don't think people want to pay for that or wait. So we're still putting the finishing touches on, but I promise it's going to be amazing.

How quaint! I had a little chuckle at that one.

Luckily he changed his mind, because now Wayfare will have a cocktail menu created by The Bon Vivants, also known as Scott Baird and Josh Harris.

As usual with these two, the drinks are creative, chock full of hard-to-identify ingredients, and difficult to imagine by reading the menu how they'll taste. No doubt they'll taste delicious, as they always do. I am, of course, excited to try the black tea shrub.

The days of precious cocktails is not quite over, I'm glad to say. Look no further than the Granite Lady: That's an Old Tom Gin Martini with three kinds of
vermouth. Hallelujah!

Glasgow Bars: The Blind Pigtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e553b3da2088340134801eafb8970c2010-04-25T12:23:00-07:002010-04-25T12:23:00-07:00The Blind Pig is a speakeasy-themed bar in Glasgow that I visited on a recent Saturday night while in town for a Bowmore/Auchentoshan press trip. The venue is split into a restaurant and bar area. The bar was absolutely packed but I managed to squeeze my way up close to watch the action. The shakers were all metal (Alessi, I think) and they use those brushed aluminum jiggers to measure. The bartender had the old-time (white shirt and suspenders) look of American bars, but without the ironic mustache. The cocktail menu that doesn't appear to be online consists of mostly...Camper English

The Blind Pig is a speakeasy-themed bar in Glasgow that I visited on a recent Saturday night while in town for a Bowmore/Auchentoshan press trip.

The venue is split into a restaurant and bar area. The bar was absolutely packed but I managed to squeeze my way up close to watch the action. The shakers were all metal (Alessi, I think) and they use those brushed aluminum jiggers to measure. The bartender had the old-time (white shirt and suspenders) look of American bars, but without the ironic mustache.

The cocktail menu that doesn't appear to be online consists of mostly floral drinks, so I was having trouble finding something I wanted to order. Naturally, my first choice they were out of- the Holland House made with Bols Genever, maraschino, lemon, and vermouth. (I was amazed not only at how many bars in Glasgow carry Bols Genever, but also how many of them have it in drinks on the menu.)

I opted for the Moonshine Martini instead, made with gin, dry vermouth, maraschino, and absinthe. It was pretty good, except for the garnish of bright red maraschino cherries sitting in the bottom of the glass.

This bar is open for brunch on Sundays and at happy hour has a special of martinis for two people at a discount, served in tea cups and coming with a tea pot for refills.

This was just one of the ways this bar has a strong Hendrick's Gin influence on it- you could see it named in the recipes, the floral drink style, and a few product placements around the bar.

(I like the glass lighting that doesn't look as nice in the picture as in real life- glassware hung over the bar with small lights shining on it to spray the light through the crystal designs.)

Original Ginstag:typepad.com,2003:post-578505412008-10-31T18:00:46-07:002008-10-31T18:00:46-07:00Check out my story in today's San Francisco Chronicle about new-to-market old-style gins, including genever, old tom, and aged gin. The story is here.Camper English

Check out my story in today's San Francisco Chronicle about
new-to-market old-style gins, including genever, old tom, and aged gin.
The story is here.